As you may recall, the Board of Trustees commissioned an Anti-Oppression Task Force (AOTF) at UCE in response to a call from the congregation, Evanston Interfaith leaders, the UUA through the Commission on Institutional Change, and Black Lives of UU “to engage in the struggle to dismantle white supremacy as it collectively exists” and “to become more inclusive, equitable, and diverse while… work[ing]…to be accountable to those most affected by injustice.” The purpose of the UCE Anti-Oppression Task Force is to determine the ways in which we might answer this call, making justice a reality both in our congregation and beyond.
For the last year, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has been working with our consultants at the YWCA Equity Institute. The AOTF has pinpointed three goals for its work:
- expanding the congregation’s ownership of anti-racism, anti-oppression work;
- increasing power sharing at UCE; and
- encouraging radical inclusion and hospitality.
With the assistance of the YWCA, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has determined that the first step in realizing these goals is to communicate with the congregation. We need to understand and discern where we are and what we might do as a congregation to continue our anti-racism, anti-oppression journey and to build our Beloved Community.
For this reason, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has created three similar, but not identical surveys: one that has been given to members of the Board of Trustees, one that will be given to the Staff, and one that will be given to the congregation. These surveys are the result of months of discussion among task force members. The information from the surveys will be collected and summarized by the YWCA Equity Institute. All of the surveys will be done individually and anonymously.
Board members are completing their surveys now and will be discussing next steps in collaboration with the YWCA at the Board retreat in August. The Staff will be working through their survey at their annual retreat in September. The congregation can expect to see the survey in their email boxes in August. After the survey is released to the congregation, members of the Anti-Oppression Task Force will also be available after the service on Sunday mornings to assist in completing the survey and to answer questions. We need you, all of you, to complete the survey!
The Anti-Oppression Task Force is an important part of our congregation’s anti-racism, anti-oppression efforts and an integral part of our Eighth Principle work. The survey is the next step in diving deeply into this work. We appreciate your willingness to join us on this journey! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rev. Eileen Wiviott at ewiviott@ucevanston.org or Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org.